Experiment
by FireWolfAbianvi
Summary: It was a week after BB escaped the orphanage called "Whammy's House" to plan his revenge on the great detective L, his ex-mentor. How will he avoid being tracked down by said detective? And what role in his plan will take the nine years old girl, whose life B accidentaly saved just to discover another information about how his eyes worked?
1. Chapter 1 - A kid in the frost

_**-Experiment-**_

_**Chapter one: A kid in the frost**_

I walked forward, forcing my way through deep snow which covered the pavement with white, seemingly delicate layer, squinting my eyes to prevent the snowflakes from falling into them. There was a snowstorm, but coming back to Whammy house was not an option. I'd rather freeze to death than go back to this hellhole. I'm not longer their tool. For the first time in forever all this thing with succeeding L seemed so ridiculous. I chuckled under my breath. Out of there all these troubles seemed so small. And to think that my best friend committed suicide because of it…

-Kyahahahaha… hehehe… - I laughed out loud. How could he be so stupid? So what that he didn't manage to finish his homework few times. I bet that L never had to do any homework anyway. He thought like he was the most important person in the world, nobody ever ordered him. Which way he was better than us? A low chuckle escaped from my throat once again. In no way!

-You hear L? You're nothing better than me! – I shouted, even though I knew he couldn't possibly see or hear me in the middle of snowstorm. I chuckled again, realizing that in fact I was shouting to the empty space. I found this thought strangely amusing. At the moment I felt like the whole life was some ridiculous joke. The storm, the frost, the wind… so funny! And to think that I'll be frozen alive if I won't find any shelter soon, it was so hilarious! How did I even get there? Where in the holly hell I am?

-Kyehehehehehehehehehe…. – the sound of my laugh didn't last long, the howling wind drowned it out. And what was the best? I didn't even saw anything beside the white snow everywhere… on the ground, in the air, even on my coat, which was theoretically supposed to be black.

I continued my walk laughing to myself from time to time. There was nothing left for me, just to laugh at the life and all my troubles… but I swear, if I won't end up frozen in this 'god knows where' place, I will get my revenge on L! In this certain moment I didn't have any kind of plan, but this will come with time. I had lot of time!

Suddenly I felt something pulling my coat from behind. I turned around. There was a little kid, tightly grasping the corner of my coat in its little hands. I looked above its head.

_Beatrice Archer _

The red letters above kid's head were plainly visible. No snow or mist could cover them. So it was a little girl. I looked at her lifespan. 'Oh, how sad…' I thought sarcastically noticing that she had about six years left to live. It's not like I was bothered by the fact that some little girl was destined to die young. In all honesty, I didn't give a crap about it. Just another meaningless life, that appeared in this world due to the urges of its parents just to disappear some time later. It seemed almost funny how people was convinced about special meanings of their lives. Bullshit! There were billions of them, and all of them acted like some stupid ants. Meh, even ants were wiser! At least they knew their lives are nothing special.

-What do you want, brat? – I snapped at the child.

-I… I'm cold… - she whined, without even looking up. I chuckled darkly

-So what? I'm not sunbathing on the Egyptian beach either. – I said with undisguised anger in my voice. Some whining kid was the last thing I needed right now.

-b-but… - she started to speak but I snatched my coat from her hands and pushed her, causing her to fall on the snow.

-Isn't it parents job to take care of the annoying little brats like you? Leave me alone! – I growled at her, but at the same moment I noticed something strange. Her lifespan suddenly started to reduce itself in quite fast pace. I raised an eyebrow as the girl started to cry quietly. As long as I live, I've never saw someone's lifespan change. It was something that never changed. People were always meeting their fates.

Interesting. Maybe it was because this kid was here alone, and I wasn't going to help it. I guess that if someone would force another human in the situation where his death was unavoidable, the person's lifespan would drop, because it could be only rescued by unnatural event… at least that was how I thought it worked. Looking at this kid, and assuming that I won't adopt it, it would probably require the freezing winter to become warm spring out of sudden to keep it alive in this situation. I chuckled at the thought that I could even deny the decision of the fate.

- P-please, s-sir… – Little girl whined, sitting in the snow, visibly shaking from cold. She reached her hand to catch my coat but I stepped backwards, so she didn't manage to grasp her little hand on my clothes again. Maybe it wasn't so bad idea to take her from here after all? I was curious to see if her lifespan would go back to its previous length when she won't be endangered to become human-ice cream. I sighed, then I leaned forward and caught little girl's arm, grasping my fingers on it with enough strength to make her squeal out of pain. I pulled her up, so she could stand on her own legs, but when I let go of her arm, she fell backwards again.

-how pathetic… - I muttered under my breath. It looked like I will have to carry her. She whined quietly when I picked her up, but after a while of being surprised she clung to me like a bur to the furry coat. I noticed that she was very light, even for a kid of her height. She sobbed quietly. Somehow, I found her anxiety funny. Next chuckle escaped my lips, as I started to walk in the direction where I thought the town would be. It was hilarious how childishly naive this child was, I insulted her and threw her to the ground before and now she was clinging to me like I was her mommy or someone. At the Whammy house even the toddlers had some instincts which were telling them whenever they met someone dangerous… a person like me, for example. This girl seemed to be lacking all of these instincts… or maybe she just was that desperate? I wonder if people feel when they are about to die?

Girl was sobbing into my shoulder practically all the way I walked, so I was quite relieved when I finally found myself in the town. The snowstorm wasn't about to subside so I've walked into the first shop I found with my sight. The warm air in the building surrounded me in the very moment I've closed the door behind me. The cashier greeted me, but I just muttered quiet 'good morning' (even if I wasn't sure if it was morning)

-Now get off of me, little brat. – I exclaimed, trying to get the child out of me, but the little girl tightly grasped the collar of my coat and refused to let go.

-You still can't stay on your own legs? I don't care, get off! – I growled angrily at the kid, and pushed her with enough strength to make her let go. Of course she fell on her butt and started to cry. Cashier immediately stormed out of his seat (he didn't have any customers anyway) and stood between me and the kid.

-What are you doing, sir! This little girl is hurt! – He exclaimed.

-You're so concerned? Then you can adopt her, I don't give a crap. Just get out of the way for a while, I have to check how went my experiment… - I snapped at him.

-Experiment? – Cashier managed to ask until I pushed him away. Unfortunately he landed on the shelf stuffed with various alcohols and few bottles fell on him, one broke on the top of his head, and caused the man to fell on the floor, unconscious. I glanced at cashier's lifespan. How lucky, just half a hour left. He'll surely bleed out to death in this period, because he landed on broken glass from other bottles. I glanced above the head of the child. Interesting. Her lifespan indeed came back to previous six years. So it was possible to longer the lifespan which already dropped, but just to the original amount.

I wasn't much into coming out and walking through the snowstorm again, so I decided to erase the possible evidence of my presence here when this man was 'attacked'. I walked towards the staff room, to check if they had cameras in the shop. As I was passing near the little girl I brought here, she backed away on her knees until her back hit the wall.

-Mhm… you're afraid of me now, my little experiment? Maybe you're not that stupid… - I chuckled with wide carnivorous grin as I glanced at her. I saw tears appearing in the corners of her eyes, and her body was shaking again, this time it was surely from fear. Nothing strange, I've just killed a man right in front of her. I always wondered why people' death bothered other people so much. For me it was something natural… It was his time anyway. Girl whined in panic when I took a step towards her once more

-What? Don't stare at me with these… - I wanted to say 'pathetic kicked puppy eyes' but now I noticed… that her eyes, they were exactly the same color, the same shade of deep blue as my only friend, my poor A had.

-With these beautiful eyes of yours. – I whispered, my tone was now more like affectionate. I crept closer to the little girl, I saw she tried to get on her legs and flee, but she fell once more, she was too weak. My grin gained softer form.

-Tell me… how old are you, my little experiment? – I asked in much softer voice, still using the nickname I given to her.

-I-Im nn-nine… - She said to me, her voice clearly told me that she was terrified, maybe even too terrified to move. I hummed approvingly.

She tried to back away when I reached my hands to pick her up, but there was no way that some traumatized nine years old could get away from me if I didn't want it to. I held her in my arms, feeling her body shaking violently. The more I watched her, the more she resembled A to me. She also had the same bright blonde hair, and the same shade of skin. Now I knew that I'm not going to abandon her at the first occasion as I originally planned. Maybe she would be useful in the future?

-So, little one, you're going with me whenever you want or not! – I exclaimed, but little girl only shivered a bit in response. Anyway, It's time to head to the staff room to erase the records from cameras. It would be a shame if L would manage to find me a mere week after my runaway...

_**Author's Note:**__ It looks like I begin to write another story… I just got an inspiration to write something about BB, because he's equal to L on my list of favorite characters from death note. In this story, B is actually fifteen. Of course I'm not going to abandon my other story, I will update it soon as well. _

_I hope you liked the beginning ;)_


	2. Chapter 2 - Conscience of a murderer

_**-Experiment-**_

_**Chapter two: The conscience of a murderer**_

I went to the staff room which turned out to be open, carrying the kid in my arms, not paying attention to its whines and sobs. As if the fate wanted to make my life easier, the security cameras' controlling panel indeed was there. I put the little girl on the nearest chair

- You'd better not try to run – I smiled at her, or rather grinned evilly. She only nodded shyly between sobs. It only caused my grin to grow wider, I've experienced a strange pleasure from knowing that she was afraid of me. I turned to the cameras' control panel and started to delete the records. After I finished and turned the cameras off, I found some scrap of fabric and cleaned up the fingerprints from every place I touched before. I took the fabric with me, to avoid danger of them finding out the samples of my DNA. After all, I thought, this could be a kind of practice, since I was going to become a criminal. L surely won't pay attention to a single murder and police rather won't investigate it too much, they would assume that there was a burglar who just accidentally killed the man who tried to stop him from robbing his shop. Well, If I wanted to keep this version believable, It would be better if I really took some supplies. I will need them later anyway, since my little tag-along will get hungry soon, even if she's not already. I glanced at the child

-Let's go. – I commanded emotionlessly, but little girl just stared at me with wide eyes, frightened. A low growl escaped my mouth as I gustily approached her and picked her up again.

-You really have to learn how to walk if you don't have a death wish… - I muttered to the child, tossing it over my shoulder. She squealed from surprise, and continued to sob a bit, but it seemed like she wasn't going to whine any longer. 'Maybe she got tired' I thought with relief. Before I walked out of the shop, I grabbed few boxes with snacks from shop shelves with one free hand and shoved them into the pockets of my coat, keeping the girl on my shoulder with my second hand. I had to be careful in case she would snap and start to kick and scream… I could never know, children were quite unpredictable when they were panicking.

Eventually I had to get out of the shop, straight into the raging snowstorm. I continued my journey to nowhere.

After few hours the storm finally subsided, but we (read: me and this kid) were already far from the town. I was honestly tired from all this walking, and the little girl I carried on my shoulder wasn't moving or crying any longer. If I didn't feel her shallow breath, I could assume that she died through the journey.

I decided to rest for a bit, so I went out of the road, heading towards small coppice which grew nearby. I decided to put the little girl down as I stopped my steps under one tree, which branches covered by cold white fluff. She gasped out of surprise as I took her off of my shoulder and practically threw her on the snow. It's not like she could get hurt. Snow layer was too deep. She stared at me with tears in her eyes. I took one pack of lavender candies out of my pocket, and threw them in child's direction, chuckling darkly.

-Eat. You may not get anything beside this soon. – I told her. Little girl nodded slowly and tried to open the pack with candies. It was visible that she was too weak to do it, but I didn't care.

-And to think that I ended up babysitting… – I muttered under breath, doubting the girl to hear me. I sat on the snow, leaning against the tree. I was so tired that I almost didn't notice the girl crawling on all fours to me.

-What? – I snapped at her, causing her to back away

-C-could y-you help m-me, s-sir? –She asked with weak voice, her cheeks red from crying and cold, extending her hand to show me the pack of candies, which was still tightly sealed. I sighed, trying to remind myself why exactly I took her with me. Because she had physical features of my dead friend? 'You're getting sentimental, B' I thought, chuckling to myself. I abruptly snatched the candy pack from her little hands and opened it effortlessly, then I threw it back to her, without saying a word. She immediately started to unwrap candies from the pack and eat them without wasting time to chew them properly. I guess she was terribly hungry. I was surprised that she didn't even whine about it before. Maybe she wasn't so pathetic after all.

-S-sir?- She asked again, stuttering from cold or fear (or both). I glanced at her with annoyed expression on my face.

-when w-we'll go to s-somewhere w-warm?- I listened to her weak childish voice, wondering exactly the same. Ending up frozen wasn't appearing so funny anymore… I guess I have lost my good mood because of this kid

-Ehh… when I'll find some warm place. – I replied with a sigh.

-Y-you don't h-have a h-home? – Girl stuttered.

-No, silly. Which sane person would go out in the middle of snowstorm to wander between the towns if they had someplace to stay? – I grunted, staring in the space.

-W-why are y-you so mean t-to me? – She suddenly asked with a little braver tone of voice. I had enough, lucky her that she was out of my reach.

-Because some annoying little girl is asking me stupid questions. Will you be quiet or I should start to regret that I hadn't left you in the middle of nowhere back then? – I asked with annoyance. The child backed away few steps, taken aback by my words. I didn't look at her, but I could hear her sobs again.

-You really have to cry all the time? You'll freeze your own eyes if you won't calm down – I advised her emotionlessly, It's not like I cared anyway, but I felt like I'm going to go insane if she'll continue to cry like that every time when I won't act like a loving uncle to her.

I stopped to hear her cries, so she had probably listened to me.

Minutes were passing, and the surroundings were unusually silent… or maybe it was because I wasn't thinking about anything, One couldn't blame nature for being silent in the middle of winter, assuming that there was no wind. I glanced at the child, which was sitting on the snow, hugging itself, trying to keep it's warmth. Her lifespan wasn't dropping, but she could get sick because of the cold. Of course I didn't want her to catch cold, to be honest, I had a feeling of responsibility for her health. I tried to convince myself that I don't really care, but then the feeling was coming back with double strength. Maybe it was this sentimental part of me again… or it was just a kids' attribute to be so annoyingly pitiful that people wanted to comfort them when they were making sad faces. A quiet sigh escaped my lips.

-Hey, kid! – I called all of sudden, little girl almost jumped, surprised, immediately looking at me.

-Come here, until you'll freeze to death… - I told her, but she only stared at me, and in her eyes I could easily see how afraid she was. Again, maybe she wasn't so naive after all. But from the other side, she was dumb enough to refuse when I offered to help her, like there was someone else who could rescue her now. I rolled my eyes, and continued to stare in the space. If she doesn't want to come, then I'll let her freeze. Slowly I closed my eyes, concentrating on the only job I've got – thinking up a plan to get my revenge on L.

I was so deep in thoughts that I didn't notice the nine years old crawling up to me until this little girl snuggled into my coat. I opened my eyes and raised an eyebrow. She shivered and took a step back, staring at me with her blue eyes, like she wasn't sure if she haven't bothered me in some way. I only reached her with my hand and pulled her into embrace, letting her under my coat. I felt her body stiffen, she surely wasn't expecting that coming.

-Calm down, I'm not gonna kill you. – I chuckled, ruffling little girl's hair with my left hand. She glanced at me, like she wanted to make sure if I really wasn't angry at her. Few seconds later, she cuddled up to my side, trying to get warmer. Her hands were indeed really cold. I just hoped she won't get sick after all, that would be troublesome.

I closed my eyes again, feeling that child beside me wasn't shivering from cold anymore. How could I possibly do something which could deeply hurt L, beside killing him, of course. I knew I couldn't do that before his time will come. Now thanks to the little girl I knew it's possible to corner someone and kill him before his original time when there was no real chances of someone or something helping him, but this would only work with someone really dumb. It was impossible to force L into no-escape and no-possible-help situation with fate on his side. I bet that he know it too. No wonder how he built up such giant ego with Watari executing his every order and all of these whammy kids worshipping him as he was some sort of god. That's it! How sad it would be if 'all knowing' L would meet a case which he won't be able to solve? If there was a criminal who'll outsmart the great detective? His pride would be crushed, and the whole world would see too. They would see, that their so called 'hero' is indeed a next looser, who can be fooled like every other human being! My lips curved into a wide, carnivorous grin. Yes, I will be this criminal who'll outsmart L! I chuckled darkly. He will surely know that it was me, who else could do something like that? But he won't find any real evidence pointing to me. People won't trust L any longer, cause they will want to have a proof before they'll convict anyone. Law system is on my side in this aspect. Innocent until it's proven otherwise. Your robotic talking won't make you win, L! And after that, nobody will believe you ever again!

You said it by yourself, L, you're a liar. And this one time when you'll try to tell the truth, nobody will listen…

-Kyehehehehehe! Kyahahahahahaha… hahahaha… – I started to laugh out loud, until I went out of breath. Then I noticed that the kid was staring at me… I have forgotten she was there, cuddled up to me.

-Sir? – She asked shyly. I grinned at her and embraced her little body with my arm. Now I was in definitely good mood.

-Yes, my little experiment? – I asked. It looks like 'experiment' became her nickname in my mind, even if the red letters above her head were constantly reminding me that her name was Beatrice.

-Why are you laughing? – She asked, no longer stuttering. Her voice was shy, but curious. I raised my free hand and patted her head.

-I just imagined something really funny, little one… - I chuckled…


	3. Chapter 3 - The white desert

_**Experiment**_

_**Chapter three: the white desert**_

I've lost the reckoning of time while sitting there, under the tree, with a nine years old girl hiding under my coat. I was surrounded with whiteness. Snow was everywhere, so white that my eyes were beginning to hurt. As if it wasn't enough, my limbs were slowly stiffening. It was time to continue journey. I picked the girl up without big effort, making her squeal out of surprise. She must have fallen asleep.

-We're going. Can you walk? – I asked her, and she was just staring at me with sleepy eyes. After a while she nodded slowly.

-Okay. So let's go. – I ordered, then I put her on the ground. While getting up, I shook most of the snow off of me. The little girl also got up, but it was plainly visible how much effort she put into such a simple thing as standing on two legs. My lips curved into a smile. She was trying to look strong now. Okay, so, let's see how much she'll be able to bear. I started to walk. I didn't even know in which direction I was going, but it didn't matter at all. I just had to reach some road, then it would lead me to the civilization sooner or later.

…

Few hours later we were still walking, luckily, I finally found the road I could follow. I glanced behind me to see the little girl, who was following me all the time, even though she was extremely exhausted. I doubted that she'll be able to walk like that for long time. I even considered leaving her here. She could be something I would get attached too, if it'll keep going like this, and knowing how short she was destined to live, it would only hurt me when the time comes. I no longer needed her, I checked what I wanted to check. Similar to A or not, she was only going to be a burden for me. Now it was so simple. Just to keep walking and wait until she'll get too tired to follow me.

I kept going forward, while reaching to my coat's pocket, to get second pack of lavender candies I stole before. This time it was for me. Lavender candies wasn't my favorite snack, in fact I didn't like them at all, but the jars of strawberry jam in this shop were too big to carry them in the pockets. These candies were better than nothing. I opened the pack, and shoved one of the candies into my mouth…

…

Okay… it was already getting dark, and there were three things which were really bothering me. First of all: My legs started to hurt, not to mention that I was cold and tired, and the nearest town was nowhere to be seen. Second thing: I've run out of snacks. Finally the third thing: The nine years old girl was still following me. Somehow she didn't faint or fall over and remained in the snow while I was walking as fast as I could. She had to be really determined. I glanced behind me. She was trying her best to keep up with me, her face was red because of cold and her whole body was visibly shaking every time she was forcing herself to make another step. I looked away from her, before the pieces of humanity which were left in me could force me to feel compassion for this child. I didn't need her. I needed some shelter, I needed to beat L, I needed shower, I needed strawberry jam, but I didn't need her! I continued to walk…

…

Finally I saw the lights of civilization on the horizon. Just a little more walking, then I could pretend to be some poor traveler (okay, this was something I didn't really have to pretend) searching for shelter. These naïve people would pity me and give me food. Maybe the little girl who was following me (at the present moment, she almost crawled on all fours, trying to keep up) could be useful after all. I would look less suspicious with a little girl who seemed to trust me by my side. I suddenly stopped and turned to the girl. She had to notice that I took a break in walk, but just when she stopped she fell limply on the snow, it looked like she fainted from the exhaustion. I walked towards her and leaned over her, to pick up her little body, which seemed to be ridiculously heavy for my tired arms. After all, I continued my walk towards the town in front of me.

…

When I reached the border of town, the little girl started to wake up in my arms. I was lucky that she only snuggled her head into my chest, instead of panicking and throwing kicks in random directions. It seemed like this kid just had to have someone who she could rely on. Not like it was strange. Basically, most of children in her age would search for a guidance from adults while being abandoned by their own parents. Or she was just lost? Anyway, the irresponsible parents who let her to get lost in the snowstorm won't retrieve her anyway.

I knocked to the door of the first detached house I reached, maybe someone would open. Now I just had to think up a tragic story about how I had adopted a kid I found in the middle of raging snowstorm, skipping the part about murder and robbery, and skipping the fact that I only cared about the child as long as it remained useful.

After a while of waiting, a young woman opened the door. She was in casual clothes, and had a messy hair, like she merely got up from the bed, which in fact was very probable option, since judging by the position of moon on the sky, it was early morning. She was quite surprised. Another predictable reaction.

-G-good morning Sir… may I help you? –She asked, looking at me with suspicion, until she noticed the child in my arms. Now it's time for the part I hated. To play poor, homeless babysitter.

-I'm very sorry to intrude, especially on such early hour, but we need a shelter. I've found this little girl alone in the middle of nowhere, and I took her with me, we've walked all night to reach this town… we would be really thankful if miss would allow us to stay in your house until we regain strength to continue journey… I don't have any home to go to. – I tried my best to sound like a pitiful, exhausted teenager who's naive enough to beg random people for help. Woman stared at the girl for few next seconds, her eyes widening in compassion.

-Of course, please enter! – she said to me with concern in her voice. I fought the smirk which tried to creep onto my face. Suddenly I heard some manly voice coming from inside of the house.

-Sophie, who's there? – The man called.

-Oh, they are just some travelers. They need our help. – Woman called back.

-Please, excuse me for a moment, I have to talk with my husband, but he'll surely let you stay! – She said. I just nodded, staying in the hallway and the little girl in my arms hummed questioningly. She had to be a little confused after she fainted back then. Anyway, I didn't put her on the ground yet just because I had to treat her "in proper way" to gain this family's trust.

-What do you mean, you're going to let a suspicious teenager in our house just because he told you some sad story? Don't be so naive, Sophie. He could be a thief, or worse. – Woman's husband said, with a frown on his face.

-Dear, I know it's risky to allow strangers in our house, but no matter who the boy is, the child he carried definitely need some help! She looked like she was half-conscious. Kicking them out in this weather could lead this child to death… - Woman pleaded. It was obvious that she had a soft spot for little kids. The man sighed.

-Okay… but we'll have to keep an eye on them while they're here. Eventually we could call the ambulance if this little girl is really so weak. – He agreed for his wife's idea, although his face expression showed clearly that he wasn't very happy about it. He heard many times how strangers were asking families for help, and then they were getting robbed. He couldn't help but suspect strangers, after all he was an officer of the local police.

Finally, the woman and her husband came back to the hallway. The man wasn't looking friendly, but I had to play a nice teenager who deeply cares about his adopted little girl, rather than praise him for a little bit of intelligence he showed by not trusting a stranger, like his naive wife did.

-It's everything alright with the child? – Man asked.

-I guess… I can't tell but she looks like she's about to faint, could you help her, sir? – I asked, playing dumb. Man hummed and walked closer, then he extended his arms, wanting me to pass the girl to him. I did so. It was a relief for my tired arms. With fake concern in my eyes I've watched the man examine the little girl, who was only conscious enough to move her head and look in my direction with sleepy eyes.

-Mhm… she looks exhausted and starved, but beside this she seems to be fine. You said you found her like this? – Man asked.

-Yes. – I just agreed. This was real version of what happened. Just not a full version, which included fact that I forced her to walk the distance between towns on her own legs, ignoring the fact that she was already weak. Well, I didn't even force her to follow me, but she would freeze if she didn't. Man didn't have to know this part of the story anyway. It would be highly troublesome if I would be accused for the child abuse by these people

-Ooh, poor little thing! – Woman leaned to look closer at the child. Her voice showed deep concern, I knew it wasn't faked. She really felt compassion for the little girl.

-I'll prepare some breakfast for you! Please, come to the dining room– all of sudden she stated enthusiastically, and then walked towards the kitchen. The man led me to the right room, still carrying my little tag-along in his arms. I just hoped she won't get used to it, human, even a child, wasn't the lightest thing to carry.

In the dining room, the man (whose name was, as I noticed, Joseph Brown) put little Beatrice in the chair, I took a place next to her. Joseph sat by the other side of the table, so he was facing me. He looked like he was about to say something, but all of sudden, his cell phone rang. He took it out of his trousers' pocket, and put it to his ear. I tried to hear what the person who called said, but it wasn't that easy if one didn't have canine hearing. Fortunately, the man himself helped me to tell what the talk was about.

-What, a murderer in the nearby town? They don't have their own police office, do they? - Man asked. The voice in the phone apparently gave him a long explanation.

-So It's professional? Well, from what you told me, it could be some skilled burglar who could kill him by an accident. – Joseph said to the phone. After a while of conversation he finally hung up, explaining that he had quests and he wasn't able to talk about the case right now. He raised his gaze to my face, smiling slightly.

-Sorry for this… As you surely guessed, I'm working in the local police. – He explained.

-Mhm… it have to be an exciting work. – I said, pretending to be curious about it.

-If you think like that… believe me, young man, it's still mainly paperwork – He told me, with humorous tone. In response I faked a smile. It looked like he wasn't suspecting me of being a bad guy anymore.

-Oh, I guess I never introduced myself, My name is Joseph Brown. – I nodded, as he said his name, even though I already knew it.

-I am Jake Netherwind, and I this little girl never told me her name before… what is your name, little one? – I asked the girl who was staring at the empty table. Of course I knew her name, but I couldn't just tell everybody I met that I already knew their names. Especially when I didn't want to creep people out. Of course, the name I told was also an alias, but I guess I won't be going by this name in the end. Girl raised her sleepy gaze at me.

-I'm Beaaatrice… - She practically yawned when she tried to say her name. I must admit, it looked quite cute.

-Okay, Beatrice, how it was that you ended up in a snowstorm between the towns? – The man named Joseph asked. The kid looked at him with sleepy eyes.

-M-mommy told me to wait… and I waited, but there was so cold… - She clearly fought with her weakness to say those words.

-Will my mommy find me here, sir?– She asked the man with naive hope in her voice. Joseph looked quite confused by her sudden question. Surely as the police officer he knew that girl's mom most probably abandoned her on purpose, but telling the kid such sad thing that her mommy won't come back, and she probably never intended too, was beyond his possibilities.

-Sorry to tell you, little one, but from what you said, your mommy just abandoned you. Parents who love their children don't leave them in the middle of nowhere alone. – I just couldn't hep but say it out loud.

-Jake, I think… - Man started, but I cut his sentence off.

-It's better If she will know. I didn't have so loving parents too anyway. The faster she'll get over it, the better – I told in matter-of-fact tone. Now the man surely thought that I was a bit harsh, but he thought it was because I had bad childhood, not that I was a bad guy… especially not this murderer from nearby town. Deep inside I wanted to laugh at him for his naïve nature… But now I at least knew that girl's parents won't be a problem, If I would "adopt" her.


	4. Chapter 4 - A hidden dungeon

_**Experiment**_

_**Chapter Four: A hidden dungeon**_

I've spent three days in Mr. Brown's house, and through these days a kid I've brought here regained strength almost completely. I had to admit, this little girl had amazing endurance. The only bad thing lied in the fact, that the child was starting to became more and more annoying. I had to be very nice to the girl, so I wouldn't blow up my cover in front of these people. After I was forced to comfort her when she realized she was abandoned by her mom, she became really clingy and was following me nearly everywhere, like a lost puppy. I wasn't able to tell her to go away, because she also became more confident and she would go and cry to this policeman that I've shouted at her. However this will change soon, Mrs. Brown allowed me to check the internet on her PC, and I've found info about someplace which could became my hideout. In the forest which surrounded this town an old dungeon was located. Originally it was placed under the medieval church, which was destroyed in the war. Nobody ever bothered to rebuild the church, and the dungeon was left untouched, since it was located deep in the forest. The only thing which bothered me was the fact that information about this place was placed on popular webpage, but I guess I could hack it from there. Everything was perfect.

While Mrs. Brown was preparing a supper for us, I tapped Mr. Brown's shoulder, trying to get his attention.

-Yes, Jake? – He asked politely.

-I think we'll be leaving tomorrow. We don't want to become burden for your family, sir. – I stated, doing my best in sounding like I've really meant that. In fact, only my pride was stopping me from considering being a parasite on some wealthy family. Yeah, I had to beat L, not find a home, where some so called parents will tell me how to live. Man frowned.

-Oh, you don't have to. It's no burden for us to help you two, where would you go in this cold? – He answered quickly, sounding concerned.

-I remember that I had a distant uncle in the next town, I think I'll be heading in this direction. We'll reach it in no time! – I said in optimistic voice. There was no time for Policeman's worries and concerns. My version was "we're going to be perfectly fine, we're going"

-Oh, that's good. At least you have somewhere to go. If you want I could phone him and tell him that you're going to visit him. – Man told me. No, it wasn't supposed to go this way. Luckily, this problem was easy to solve. I scratched back of my head innocently, allowing my lips to form a sheepish smile.

-That would be nice… but I don't know his phone number. I only faintly remember that he lived in old wooden house. – I said. There was a lot of old wooden houses in towns like this, so Mr. Brown had no reasons to be suspicious.

-You're sure You'll be fine? – He asked once again.

-I'm sure. – I told him. Oh, how I hated to repeat myself! But yelling on this man was out of question.

-Then it's fine… I wish you good luck. – Man smiled brightly. If he only knew to who he is wishing good luck…

-Thank you, sir. – I replied, modulating my voice so I sounded sincere. I was a skilled liar. Even Whammy's children couldn't tell if I was telling truth or not.

Finally, Mrs. Brown came to the dining room, carrying a plate with cooked fish and potatoes. Her meals were okay, but I've really missed sweets. Somehow this girl gained the lion's share of every kind of candy Mrs. Brown had. Damn this little thief…

…

Before we left, Mrs. Brown gave us a backpack full of sandwiches and sweets for the child. But child could already forget about sweets. The very moment I've left that house I didn't have to be nice uncle any longer. Sweets were mine!

-Uncle Jack! When we're going to see your uncle? Will you give me a candy?– Little girl asked almost immediately when we reached the border of the town. I growled under my breath.

-No, I won't. You ate enough candies already. Don't even hope for any more sweets until I'll get enough. And stop calling me uncle Jake. That's not my name! I'm B. You should call me B – I snapped at child, letting out all the annoyance I cumulated through these four days. Girl jumped backwards in surprise, taken aback by my anger. I saw tears appearing in corners of her eyes.

-B-but your uncle will have sweets? – She asked, this time more shyly, looking down.

-You still don't get it? There's no uncle. We're not going to the next town. I have no home.- I explained, narrowing my eyes while looking at the child.

-Then why can't we stay in miss Sophie's house? She was so nice! I want to go back! – She pouted. As I said, this kid became a spoiled brat thanks to these people.

-Forget. You know too much. You thought I would let you go after you saw what I did? I can do the same to you if you're going to act like a spoiled brat! – I growled at the kid. Suddenly she took a step back and started sobbing. She must have remembered the event in the shop, and realized that I could kill her easily. There was no need to tell her that I knew when she was going to die. If she didn't know, I was able to effectively control her with fear. Small children like her were especially vulnerable, since they weren't searching for the solution of the problem – they were just scared.

-Y-you wouldn't do th-this to me? Y-you're only talking like that because you're a-angry? – She stuttered, looking at me with her big blue eyes, filled with tears. I grinned and walked closer to her, placing my hand on her head, ruffling her hair.

-I won't if you'll be a good girl. – I said to her, with a humorous note in my voice. It was funny to observe kid's reaction to my words. Shivering and crying. I wonder how the face of Mr. Brown would look like if he knew that he fed and kept in home the same murderer he was searching for. That would be interesting too, but it was way too risky. I had a greater goal to reach.

-So, will you be a good girl, Beatrice? – I asked with carnivorous grin on my face. Of course, I used full form of her name. Nine years old or not, I'm not going to diminish anyone's name to make it sounds nicer. I didn't understand why people are doing this. Girl nodded slowly, already too afraid to talk back. Good. Now I will teach her how to behave.

-Come, little one. – I ordered, then I began walking towards the forest. With all hints I found on the internet, I should find this dungeon in no time. Child obediently followed, wondering why I acted like that. She probably failed to understand that I lied the whole time, but luckily for her, she was too scared to ask any more stupid questions.

…

The sun was already down when we've reached the church ruins. From the outside, there weren't any signs of anyone's presence, so I've decided that we indeed can stay there. Now I only had to find the dungeon entrance. It proved to be located very close from me, but it was covered with snow. I didn't notice it at first and due to this mistake I've fallen into the hole. Growling under my breath I got up. Hole wasn't deep, and it saved me from any serious damage. I looked up. The little girl was up there, looking down. Dumb kid. She could run right now, go back to her beloved family we've left this morning. Or she didn't remember the way? Her loss. Now what she was going to do? Sit up there and stare?

-Jump down here. Here is the entrance. – I called to her with neutral voice. When we left policeman's family I decided that leaving her for death won't make any sense, she proved to be useful, even if she was annoying. Heh, maybe she will prevent my insanity from taking over completely 'till I'll make some reasonable plan how to defeat L.

The girl hesitated from jumping.

-Afraid of heights, aren't we? - I hummed questioningly. Girl nodded slowly, her body was shivering.

-Come on, I'll catch you. – I hurried her with bored tone. After all, she jumped, and I managed to catch her, as I told. It's not like she was heavy. After all, I put her down, on the snow (which fell into dungeon entrance together with me) She quickly got up, raising her gaze at me in unspoken question.

-We will be living here. Make yourself comfortable! – I smirked at her. She looked around, and I've just started to walk. I needed to explore the dungeon for a bit. After all, there should be some chambers where one could sleep. Or maybe cells to close the kid up if it will get annoying.

-Kyehehe… - I chuckled, amused by my own thoughts . Girl, of course, went after me. I didn't glance at her, but I heard her footsteps. The tunnel was going straight for quite a while, but I had a feeling that we were going down all the time. Finally we reached some large, round chamber. There were other tunnels ending in there. I counted them quickly. Twelve, or thirteen if I would count the one we came from. I started to like this place. Really, I don't necessarily pick favorite colors or other things like that, but if someone would ask me about favorite number it would be thirteen. If 1 were connected with 3 in this number, it would create the letter B. My alias. My name. My symbol.

Suddenly I felt something pulling my coat. It's not like it surprised me. It was just my little Beatrice. I raised my eyebrow, looking behind me, at the child.

-C-can we rest?- She asked in shy, quiet tone. I considered her request. I was pretty tired too.

-Okay. Let's sit right there, so we won't forget from which tunnel we came. – I commanded. I had to think up some way to mark this tunnel, I could really get lost if all tunnels would turn out to look the same. I'll think about it later. Girl already sat on the floor, and I crouched beside her, unpacking the backpack, which Mr. and Mrs. Brown generously gave us. It was full of sandwiches, which probably contained cheese and/or ham. I gave one of them to the little girl, and searched for something sweet. Deep in the backpack there was one bar of chocolate, and two packs of candies, one filled with strawberry ones, one with orange ones. I immediately choose strawberry candies, hiding rest of food back into the backpack. It wasn't jam, but it would do as temporary substitute. When Beatrice was slowly munching the sandwich, I quickly devoured the candies. I wanted more, but I had to spare some for later. When I'll arrange this place into a proper hideout, the first thing I'll do will be a robbery of some shop which sells candy and strawberry jam.

After we ate, I used one slice of cheese from a sandwich to mark the tunnel we came from. Hopefully there won't be any rats and it will stay there for some time. I sat, leaning my back against the chamber's wall, and the kid just snuggled into my coat, falling asleep. I glanced above her head. Beatrice Archer. How she could be useful in my plan of surpassing L? To take L's interest, case should be really serious. Like serial murders or really huge robbery… but robberies really weren't my thing. So, serial murders. Yet, a serial murderer needed a pattern to be considered a serial murderer. If each murder won't be anyhow connected to other ones, they will be considered as single murder. It also have to have a meaning which L will understand. How Beatrice Archer could fit in there? Beatrice for B. Archer for A. B and A. Her initials. That's it! I could use victims who have a certain initials to draw L's attention… and remind him of what he did to A. I smiled, as the plan was slowly starting to form inside my mind.

I was thoughtful like this for a longer while, until something interrupted me. I smelled the scent of nicotine from one of nearby tunnels. Someone was there! Soon I heard footsteps sounding closer and closer…


	5. Chapter 5 - A tag game

_Author's Note: This chapter should have a warning, for B, well, being B [because I don't want to throw spoilers]_

_**Experiment**_

_**Chapter five: A tag game**_

_I was thoughtful like this for a longer while, until something interrupted me. I smelled the scent of nicotine from one of nearby tunnels. Someone was there! Soon I heard footsteps sounding closer and closer…_

I quickly took the knife out of the hidden pocket on the inner side of my coat, accidentally waking girl up.

-Uncle B? – She asked quietly gazing at me with sleepy eyes. I clenched my teeth on the word "uncle".

-Once again, I'm not your uncle, now hush! Someone's there. – I hissed at the child, scaring her enough to make her curl into a human-ball, which head hidden between her knees, yelping quietly. The footsteps from the tunnel were getting louder with every second, now I could hear that there were more people than one man. I kind of expected this, after all, I found the information about this place in the internet, but it won't be good if there was many of them – I possessed some fighting skills, but not enough to chase off a gang of experienced criminals. Of course with a little luck it could be just a bunch of dungeon explorers, but I should be prepared for worst.

When first of the men stepped into the chamber, I was already ready to attack. It haven't took much time for me to tell that this guy was some gangster, and he was armed. In fact he had only one gun, but I had no time too loose. Even though the girl was clearly paralyzed by fear, I could never know when she will get some "brilliant" idea to start whining. I pounced at the man, stabbing him in the back before he could notice. Man yelped, helpless and surprised as the knife went through his body like through butter, damaging his lungs, and maybe, if I had luck, his heart, killing him immediately, until he had a chance to feel the real pain. I quickly snatched the knife from his body, making his blood splatter all over this part of the chamber, right in the moment when two other men walked out of the tunnel, causing my little tag-along to scream in horror and curl in the tighter ball, crying. Jeez, this kid really had to be that loud? I had other things to worry about!

-Hey! Who are you! – One of the men called with demanding tone, while the second man poked him and pointed at the body of their pal on the floor with his other hand, until I had a chance to answer. This was bad, It was easy to take one of them by surprise, but two muscular men who already knew I was there could be too much for me.

-You son of a bitch! What you did to him?! – First man roared at me, noticing his dead comrade, pulling out his gun to aim it on me. I had to think fast. I was about to drop my knife and raise my hands up to save my life, when the girl apparently found a reason to let out another lout whine, making the men to look at her. Having a great occasion, I quickly snatched the gun of the dead gangster and unlocked it, immediately aiming and shooting the man with gun, unfortunately only in shoulder. I wasn't the most skilled if it came to guns, but it was enough to make him drop his own gun (and growl furiously from the pain.) Then the second man pulled out his own pistol. I instinctually shot him too, this time on the leg, and when he fell to the floor, clutching his injury, I hurried to the corner where girl was sitting, and picked her up so quickly, tossing her over my shoulder, catching the backpack too, then I started running into the nearest tunnel, hearing the gunshot after me. Fortunately It seemed like they missed, and when I dived into the darkness of the tunnel, they couldn't aim to me any longer. Here I had an advantage. My shinigami eyes allowed me to locate them even in complete darkness. Nothing could cover their names and numbers above their heads. I threw the girl off of my shoulder, making her yelp in pain as she hit the floor.

-Hey, you heard it! This bastard went this way! – I heard one of the gangsters shout.

-I see nothing, where you have the torch? – Second one growled angrily. I heard their footsteps, one of them, the one who got shot in the leg, was limping clumsily.

-I don't know, It's too dark here! – The first answered, not anyhow calmer than his pal. Soon their names written in red letters above their heads appeared in the range of my sight. Good. Now I had to aim lower than the numbers were. Concentrate, B!

The sound of the shoot echoed through the tunnel, and one of names disappeared. One kill!

-Shit, where he is! – The last gangster screamed, now seriously scared, but it was too late for him. I aimed and…

Shot. And the second kill. Second name disappeared. He just noticed that he never bothered to decipher their numbers, but it seemed like their date was today. I looked around, to see the outline of little girl's figure in the darkness, and her name above her head. I extended my hand and caught her arm, leading her back to the big chamber. I had to check where led this tunnel from which gangsters came. Of course when I passed the bodies of the men, I took everything they carried with them. This way I ended up carrying a lot of luggage, but it could prove to be useful later. The little girl was bigger problem. I almost had to drag her all the way back, because otherwise she would just sit and shiver helplessly. She didn't say a single word.

When we finally reached the big chamber, I took out the torch from gangster's bag and turned it on. With a proper source of light I finally headed into the tunnel, from which they came, dragging the kid with me.

There weren't any more troubles through the way, even though we've passed by some cells with dry bones inside (Which apparently terrified Beatrice, because the very moment they have shown in the range of her side, she gave up her tries to free herself and clung to my hand, her body shaking from fear.)

As we finally reached the chamber In the end of the tunnel, I noticed something which probably was a fireplace until the fire died, leaving ashes. There were also some full bags, and the ladder, leading to the trapdoor placed on the ceiling. So there is an exit. I released girl's arm, knowing that she won't run into the darkness of the tunnel, she wasn't that brave. As if it wasn't enough, she have just seen a bloody fight between me and these men. She had to be traumatized now.

As I expected, when I let her go she literally jumped away from me, like a frightened animal, and hid behind one of the bags, which were stuffed with god knows what. I rolled my eyes. I hoped that my little kid won't go feral after all these scary things which I showed her.

I searched the bag, seeking for a lighter which I could use to light up the fireplace. When I finally found it, I snatched some papers from the corner of the chamber and threw it into fireplace, then I lit it up. Charred sticks caught the fire from the papers, and filled the chamber with orange, warm light. To make sure that we won't suffocate from the smoke, I opened the trapdoor in the ceiling. I peeked outside and noticed that it's indeed night. I went back and sat by the fireplace, glancing at the bags. Beatrice was behind them. I grinned.

-Hey, little one, aren't you going to come? – I called nonchalantly. Little girl peeked from behind the bags. My grin widened and she hid again.

-C'mon… I'll give you a sandwich! – I called again, wondering how did I thought up something as stupid as this, but I really wasn't experienced in encouraging children to anything. In Whammy's I had to do completely opposite – to tell those noisy brats to go away, and I was pretty skilled in it. I heard sobs from girls directions. I got up and walked towards the bags. I leaned over them and looked down at the girl. She started to cry louder.

-M-monster! – She whispered. Somehow it amused me. I grabbed girl by her waist and lifter her up, she started to scream and tried to kick me, of course ineffectively. It looked like she finally snapped. I clenched my teeth at the noise which hurt my ears, but I didn't let her go – She'll get tired soon.

-Let go! I want back to miss Sophie! Please! Let me go! – She yelled at me with her cheeks red from crying. Finally I threw her on the floor, she landed with a loud thud, yelping and curling herself into a ball. I crept closer to her.

-You went with me on your free will… at least we know you're not any genius… - I chuckled darkly, leaning over the terrified kid.

-You said you'll be a good girl, didn't you? – I asked with carnivorous grin on my lips, but girl only answered with sobs. My eyes had narrowed, as I stared at her for a while. I reached my hand to grab girl's shoulder, thinking that she's paralyzed by fear, but surprisingly she rolled over and evaded my hand. She got up and ran into the corner of the chamber. I let out a laugh, the one you could call a laugh of a psychopath. It echoed in the room, and if the kid wasn't already shaking from fear, It would began right now.

-So you want to play tag? – I said, and it was a statement rather than a question. I slowly walked into girl's direction, and she started to move back, until her back hit the chamber's wall. When it happened, I pounced at her, grabbing her shoulder and forcing her to lie on the floor. She wriggled with all her strength, trying to get out, screaming, but she was definitely too weak for it. I looked straight into her eyes, and she stared back. In her eyes I saw just fear, a deadly fear, like she thought it could be an end of her life. Surprisingly she stopped wriggling, like she was hypnotized. Taking advantage from her temporary break in fight, I pulled her into my embrace, immobilizing her legs with my own legs, and detained her arms with my left arm. With free right hand I reached for a knife, which was hidden in the pocket of my coat and took it out.

I delicately traced an imaginary pattern on the girl's stomach with the tip of my knife, but I didn't pressed it enough to cut her skin. She was silent, probably too shocked to let out a sound, but I could feel her heart pounding as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.

-You weren't exactly a good girl, little one, you know? – I purred in feline manner. I felt her body shaking, and then, she looked up, staring at me with her deep blue eyes, filled with fear. Again, she reminded me of A so much. For a while, her face transformed into A's face, surely just in my imagination. How could I…? Was I twisted enough to do something like that to my best friend? The only friend I ever had? Why are you haunting me, A!

A knife slipped from my fingers and hit the floor with a clink, at the same time my grip on the kid's body loosened. Girl took a chance and immediately ran away from me, leaving me with my own thoughts… what got into me?


End file.
